Nazareth Man Allegedly Lit House Fire With Family Inside

A Nazareth man has been charged with setting a fire in the basement of his home Monday night while his wife and 4-year-old daughter and other family members were upstairs.

David Arthur Howey, 36, of 121 S. New St. was committed to Northampton County Prison on $5,000 bail after his arraignment before District Justice Elmo Frey Jr. of Nazareth on charges of arson and reckless endangerment.

According to an affidavit of probable cause filed by borough Patrolman Gary Hammer, Howey admitted to setting a piece of cardboard afire with a cigarette lighter in the back room of the basement after a night of beer drinking and an argument with his wife.

He told police he had been drinking for most of the night at the Nazareth VFW Post and when he returned home, he and his wife, Barbie, 29, exchanged some "harsh words," the affidavit says.

Afterward, Howey, who lives on the first floor of the home with his wife and 4-year-old daughter Michelle, went to the basement to get clothes and Barbie Howey took her daughter to the second floor, where her mother, June Silverthorn, and father reside.

Howey told police he went to his in-laws' apartment and shortly thereafter heard a smoke detector go off in the basement. He went to the basement and attempted to extinguish the burning cardboard by placing it under a plastic table cloth and a pink blanket, according to the affidavit.

Silverthorn told police her daughter and granddaughter were in her apartment for about 20 minutes before Howey came in. She said Howey was acting "very nervous" and was pacing back and forth, the affidavit said.

The document saidSilverthorn told police she believed Howey was drunk and had a "serious drinking problem," and Howey later admitted to police that he had a drinking problem.

Officer Hammer, in the affidavit, said he detected a strong odor of alcohol on Howey's breath.

Hammer said the fire, which was called in at 7:46 p.m. and extinguished within minutes after the arrival of firefighters, had several points of origin.

Along with the burned table cloth and other items found at the scene, Hammer took into evidence a smoke detector with a disconnected battery. Referring to Howey's story that he had heard a smoke detector, Nazareth Fire Chief Dan Keenhold said it is possible the smoke detector was disconnected before the fire started.